April 10, 2020

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Are you stuck with things to do while in Isolation?

by Marc Matthews-Indovino

In today’s crazy world, many people around the globe have been forced in lockdown, staying at home, and with good reason. As the world struggles to cope with COVID-19, now more than ever is a chance for you to complete some personal development activities.

Up until recently, many of us have struggled to find the time to devote ourselves to self-improvement. Now that an excellent opportunity has arisen, please do not waste it. Staying at home does not mean you have to spend endless hours watching TV, however, if you are going to watch TV, make it count. Instead of mindless TV or endless re-runs try to watch documentaries.

I have compiled a list of some things I am doing at home that is helping me to reach my full potential in my quest to become a more professional person.

Watching documentaries– Knowledge is power, and when you watch a documentary, you gain an incredible amount of knowledge, which can be a great topic of conversation with a stranger. Furthermore, those real facts you have just acquired can be stored away for another day in time, that might just come in handy someday. There are a plethora of documentaries on platforms such as Netflix. Today I watched Pandemic and what was filmed 12 months ago has become a reality today.

Keeping fit with some exercise– There are many ways to achieve fitness. However, one of the most effective is High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). The idea of HIIT is to go as hard and as fast as you can, raising your heart rate to about 80% of your maximum heart rate for 15 minutes. It does not matter how you achieve this. You can do HIIT at home with very little or no equipment. The important thing is to raise your heart rate. The benefits of HIIT include,

Improve your circulation

Increase your Cardiovascular system (Heart)

Aid in fat loss

Add some lean muscle to your body

Learn to touch type- Many websites on the internet offer touch typing course. The one I like the best is @ http://www.typing.com has free courses and can teach you how to touch-type very quickly. I have been doing the tests for 15 minutes per day, and this has improved my skills in touch typing. The features on this website are enormous. There are lessons and tests with results so you can see your improvements. The more you practise, the faster and more accurate you will become, and the best thing is it is fun and easy to use.

Learn a new language– On your smartphone, you can download many free language applications. One of the best language applications is called Duolingo, and it is free to use. It takes between 5-10 minutes to complete each lesson. You can learn to speak, write and learn grammar from over 35 different languages, including English. Practice for 15 minutes per day, and you will be speaking a new language in no time at all.

Learn a new skill or advance your current skills- Do you know what all the buttons in the taskbar of Microsoft word or excel do? Do you know what the F buttons on a keyboard are for? You may not be advanced at computers or Microsoft word or excel. However, with only fifteen minutes of training per day, you can become advanced in any computer program you like, and very fast as well. LinkedIn Learning has a multitude of training courses that can assist you in learning or developing a skill. Learning or enhancing your computer skills is just one example, there are a plethora of other skills you can learn. Learning a new skill on LinkedIn learning allows you to link the completed certificate directly on to your LinkedIn account for everyone to see.

Catching up on your Social Media- If you enjoy using social media, try writing an article, reviewing something, tweeting, post a photo or respond to another person’s post. If you have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tiktok, Snap chat, then this is a big task. The more social media accounts you have, the more onerous this can be. I have limited myself to LinkedIn as my primary social media account. I have linked anything I do here with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. The best way I found to link everything is through my WordPress website. Most importantly now is the time to make solid network connections.

Write a blog – Writing a blog helps you to improve your writing skills, typing skills, grammar, spelling and punctuation. All critical skills to be more professional in your day to day life. There are a surfeit of blog sites you can use for free if you just want to blog. However, if you are looking to get a big following and interested in making some money. Then I suggest getting a blogging website designed especially for a sole trading business, such as http://www.wordpress.com (such as my website here).

Read a book– Try not just any book. Think about how choosing a book where have no knowledge about the subject. Choosing a book to read that you have very little or no experience can help you to learn something new. For example, if you do not know how to start a business, read a business book. It is amazing the kinds of things you learn and the ideas that are generated when you read something you do not know anything about.

Study a course and gain a Qualification- Now more than ever is the time to start or complete your course. Many TAFEs and Private training organisation have more their courses online, which means you can study from your home. Of course, not all courses can be achieved by 100% online. However, if you get the learning and some assessments out of the way now. When it comes time to do the practical assessments, the Pandemic will be over, and you are finished. Gaining a qualification leads to a better job, higher pay, benefits, and better job satisfaction. In Australia, you may even be able to access some government funding which could see your course costing $0.

So there you have it. Some of my top things you can do to increase your personal development, sharpen your mind, exercise your body and improve your skills. At the same time, you are stuck in Isolation or lockdown.

Now it is your turn, you can use all or some of what I have suggested, or you can make up your own.

One last note, I challenge everyone to go through their contact list on their phones and reach out to every single person on your phone. Send every person in your contacts an individual special message to check in on them, either an SMS or phone call. I did this, and I was surprised by the massive amount of support I received back. I also found out that a few people in my list no longer had that phone number, so I was able to update my contact list at the same time.

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About

Establish in 2019, Art of Personal Development has been set up to give free advice on how to become a better person, through articles, quotes, videos and courses. I have set up a shop for personal development tools you may require at additional cost. This site will remain free for all subscribers for life. Marc Matthews-Indovino.